Think Pocky
by Seyyan
Summary: “Um,” Haruhi cleared her throat. “Kyouyasenpai, can you tutor me?” ‘For free,’ she added mentally. [Oneshot]


_Hello everyone, this is my first Host Club fan fiction, and I hope that you will enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: I have no rights to characters and settings from the Ouran High School Host Club, nor do I own the Pocky brand name. I do own a box a Pocky though (and it is currently half empty)._

* * *

"Ha-ru-hi….."

Two identical voices suddenly broke the silence that permeated the Third Music Room, or more popularly known as the Ouran High School Host Club Room.

The only female of the host club ignored the twins that burst into the room, attaching themselves to her like a pair or vines. Instead, she continued poring through her huge stack of books, despite having difficulty moving her arms.

Other club members briefly glanced at the twin intruders. Mori, as usual, sat beside the napping Hani, and glanced at his cousin to see if he was awoken by the noise. The loli-shota senior slumbered on, assuring the protective cousin. After all, who would want to see the wrath of the petite boy if his sleep was disturbed?

Kyouya, who was typing on his laptop—heaven knows what information he keeps in that pineapple laptop of his—paused briefly to glance up, his glasses glinting darkly under the chandeliers. After making sure that the twins see how irritated he was by the noise, he continued typing.

The only one who wasn't annoyed by the sudden noise was the Host Club King, who was meeting the Chairman that afternoon. Because of his absence, the vice president declared that the club closed for that day, and instead they plan for the next event.

The twins shivered a bit after realizing what could have happened to them if they invoked the anger of the two demons. Turning down their voices a little, they continued playing with their "toy".

"Why did you leave us, Haruhi?" Asked Hikaru on the left.

"Don't we always go to the club room together?" Asked Kaoru on the right.

Haruhi merely sighed and continued reading. The twins looked at each other, their eyes twinkling with mischief. With a nod, they began to implement their unspoken plan.

"Oh, Hikaru!" Kaoru cried, fake tears—which was from an eyedropper cleverly hidden in his sleeve—flowing clinging to his eyelashes. "Haruhi doesn't want to be with us anymore!" The younger twin's hand flew to his face, fake sobs racking his body.

With practiced ease, Hikaru strode to his brother's side, embracing him closely. "Don't worry, Kaoru. Even if Haruhi doesn't want to be with us, we will still be together."

All the while, the special student rolled her eyes at the obvious fakeness of the act. "Guys, the 'brotherly act' doesn't work on me, you know," she huffed in annoyance.

"We know that." Hitachiins said in unison.

"Anyway," Kaoru drawled as he slung his arm on Haruhi's shoulder. "You've been very careless with your studies."

"Yeah," Hikaru snaked his arm around the girl's waist. "Your class standing dropped from being first."

"I know, that's why I'm studying hard now for the exams three weeks from now."

"Eh? Haru-chan's dropped from the top of the class?" Hani suddenly spoke up.

"Ah, Hani-senpai, sorry for the noise," apologized the girl.

"It's okay!" The tiny senior's face beamed happily as he ran to occupy the couch which was near the one where the three freshmen sat, and Haruhi could almost swear that there were glittery flowers surrounding the martial arts master. "Takashi already woke me up. Ne, Takashi?"

"Hn." The stoic senior followed his cousin and sat beside him as Hani stuffed his face with the cake.

"Anyway, Haru-chan," Instantly, the senior's face became more serious. "It's not good for you to lose the top spot."

Kyouya snapped his laptop shut with finality before walking towards the freshman trio and sat down at the unoccupied chair. "Hani-senpai is correct, Haruhi." He coolly pushed his glasses up. "Your scholarship demands that you remain at the top of the class. Otherwise, you will not be able to stay in Ouran. And you will not be able to pay your debt."

The female host sighed tiredly. "I know that. It's just that the host club has been taking up a lot of my time lately, that's why I've been a bit careless."

"I know! We can tutor Haru-chan!"

"Hani-senpai, that's…" Kaoru began.

"Boring. Besides, Haruhi's smarter than us, so we can't exactly help her, you know." Hikaru finished for his brother and folded his arms.

"Hn." Mori grunted in agreement as if to say 'Of course, you can't teach her, that's why we're not making you.'

"Well," the Haninozuka heir tapped his chin in thought. "Takashi and I will be entering the tournament next month, so we can't help Haru-chan. Who will help her then?"

Kyouya cleared his throat, his eyes unreadable. "That leaves me and Tamaki. We won't be having any exams soon, so we're free."

Haruhi thought it over. If she chose Tamaki as her tutor, she definitely won't be able to study. He'll only smother her with his 'fatherly' hugs. 'How annoying,' she thought.

That only left Kyouya. He might add this to her debt, but at least she'll be able to study. Suddenly, her heart clenched. 'What is this?'

"Um," Haruhi cleared her throat. "Kyouya-senpai, can you tutor me?" 'For free,' she added mentally.

The Ootori third son's lips quirked in a lopsided smile, making Haruhi shiver slightly. "Of course. And don't worry, I won't be charging anything."

He almost laughed when he saw the girl's shoulders visibly sag in relief.

"Perfect!" Hani clapped his hands. "I can't teach Haru-chan, but I can give her some review materials. Will that be okay?"

"Thank you very much, Hani-senpai, Kyouya-senpai. I'm sure this will help me a lot."

They had both agreed, though Haruhi was a bit hesitant, to hold the tutoring session at the Ootori mansion. As expected, they had already covered a lot of topic within two hours. Haruhi had already left for home because she had to prepare dinner for her father, who was returning home at 10:00.

Kyouya sat in his room, correcting Haruhi's sample exam. Hani had provided them with the sample exams, which had really helped her a lot, though Kyouya would have been able to write the sample exam himself. The exam questions were well written, except for the essay part, which truly betrayed Hani's obsession for sweets.

"What candy is special for you and why?"

Despite the silliness of the question, Haruhi had managed to write an exceptional English essay. As expected of the scholarship student.

What he didn't expect, though, was the content of the essay. He briefly skimmed the essay, noting the proper grammar, until he came to the part that said something about him.

"_Kyouya-senpai, on the other hand, is like a green tea flavored Mousse Pocky._

"_The first time I saw this flavor on the supermarket shelf, I was a bit hesitant to buy it, not only because it was a bit more expensive than the regular Pocky, but also because of its unusual flavor. I was curious as to how it would taste, so I bought it._

"_The first bite of this Pocky assaulted my senses. I almost gagged at the taste. It tasted like no other Pocky. Unlike the other flavors, it was not sweet. It had a bitter uncompromising taste that would easily turn others off._

"_I could have just thrown the rest of the package away, but because I spent quite a lot on it, I felt obligated to finish the whole box. It felt like a burden to eat it when my taste buds seemed to reject the taste. This Pocky flavor was an acquired taste._

"_And yet, by the time I was down to my last stick, I realized that I had already learned to like the taste, maybe even love it. Somehow, the uncompromising bitterness has become sweeter than before, but only to me, because when I offered some to others, they declined, saying that they didn't like the taste._

_Now, I have become fonder of this Pocky flavor, even more than the bitter chocolate."_

Kyouya was struck by the essay. It was almost a confession from the girl whom he secretly liked. He smirked as he let the test paper flutter to the floor. Fujioka Haruhi truly is a fascinating creature, despite being a commoner.

Mentally, he reminded himself to order a box or two of various flavors of Pocky and other sweets for the club tomorrow.

Kyouya Ootori grinned widely in the loneliness of his room. He liked green tea Pocky, too.

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_I hope that you liked it enough to leave a review. HAPPY READING!_

_--seyyan-- _


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